Apache Airflow vs Pipedream
No clear leader: Pipedream (73.0) and Apache Airflow (70.9) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.
Features
The capabilities each product documents. These tools do not share a category taxonomy, so this aligns what each vendor states rather than a normalised feature set.
| Feature | Apache Airflow | Pipedream |
|---|---|---|
| Ai steps | - | ✓ |
| App builder | - | ✓ |
| Code steps | - | ✓ |
| Connector count | 100+ | - |
| Custom http connector | - | ✓ |
| Data quality | ✓ | - |
| Dbt native | ✓ | - |
| Distributed executor | ✓ | - |
| Free tier | - | ✓ |
| Hosting | - | both |
| Incremental runs | ✓ | - |
| Lineage | ✓ | - |
| Managed cloud | ✓ | - |
| Paradigm | batch | - |
| Prebuilt connectors | - | 3,000+ apps with pre-built triggers and actions |
| Pricing metric | - | consumption |
| Python first | ✓ | - |
| Role | orchestrator | - |
| Self hosted oss | ✓ | - |
| Visual builder | - | ✓ |
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Apache Airflow
An open-source platform where you define workflows in Python, schedule their execution based on dependencies and timing, and monitor progress through a web interface. Widely used for data orchestration, ML operations, and infrastructure automation.
Pipedream
A developer platform that provides pre-built components and workflow automation tools to connect thousands of applications and services. Includes AI agent deployment, webhook handling, and support for custom code in multiple languages.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Pipedream
From $29/mo (Basic). Free tier available.
- FreeFree
- 100 credits/mo
- 1M AI tokens
- 3 active workflows
- 3 connected accounts
- Unlimited workflow testing
- +2 more
- Basic$29/mo ($348/year)
- 2,000 credits/mo
- 20M AI tokens
- 10 active workflows
- 5 connected accounts
- 3,000+ integrated apps
- +1 more
- Advanced$49/mo ($588/year)
- 2,000 credits/mo
- 50M AI tokens
- Unlimited workflows
- Unlimited connected accounts
- Control flow operators
- +4 more
- Connect$99/mo ($1,188/year) + $2 per additional external user
- 10,000 credits/mo
- Pipedream Connect in production
- Auth for 100 external users
- Custom OAuth clients
- API Proxy
- +3 more
- BusinessContact sales
- Volume pricing
- Custom invoicing
- Priority integration development
- Dedicated support in Slack
- Support for HIPAA workloads
- +6 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
- Snowflake
- Slack
- Salesforce
- GitHub
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
Apache Airflow
- Amazon Web Services
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform
- Databricks
- dbt Cloud
- Tableau
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- MongoDB
- Redis
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Apache Spark
- Apache Kafka
- Apache Cassandra
- Apache Flink
- Apache Druid
- Elasticsearch
- Datadog
- Jenkins
- Cohere
- Pinecone
- Weaviate
- Qdrant
- +26 more
Pipedream
- Google Sheets
- Google Drive
- Gmail
- Linear
- Notion
- Shopify
- Supabase
- Airtable
- Amazon S3
- RSS
- HTTP
- AWS
- Stripe
- HubSpot
- Zapier
Apache Airflow or Pipedream: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.